Three tokenised equity launches landed within a week.
Crypto.com opened tokenised stocks on 12 August, offering exposure to 1,500 underlying stocks and funds. The same day, Bullish became the first NYSE-listed company to tokenise its own shares, bringing its stock on-chain. The SEC also met on 14 August to consider a framework for certain crypto-based investment products.
The pitch behind all of it is simple. Put equities on blockchain rails, speed up settlement, and remove the limits imposed by traditional market hours.
But the market’s early behaviour points somewhere else. Most activity has not flowed into tokenised share ownership. It has moved into products that track share prices instead. The market built a new ownership system. Traders are using it to build a more flexible trading system.
One demand, three market designs
Tokenisation is often described as putting stocks on-chain. In practice, several different products sit under the same description.
| Format | What it provides | What it does not provide |
| Tokenised share | Exposure linked to an underlying security | Depends on custody and redemption structure |
| Tokenised derivative | Price exposure to a stock or fund | Direct ownership, voting rights or shareholder benefits |
| Equity perpetual | Leveraged exposure to price movements | Ownership, dividends or expiry-based settlement |
A tokenised share is designed to represent ownership of a real asset. Backpack, which opened round-the-clock tokenised US equity trading across more than 150 markets in July, says users receive exposure linked to underlying securities rather than synthetic products. The DTCC has also tested tokenised stocks, ETFs and Treasurys, with a service launch planned for October.
Derivative-based products work differently. Crypto.com describes its tokenised stocks as derivative instruments that track price performance without transferring legal or beneficial ownership of the underlying shares. The assets remain held through a regulated broker-dealer structure.
Equity perpetuals go further. They do not represent shares at all. They provide continuous price exposure through contracts settled in stablecoins, with funding payments linked to an oracle reference price.
The ownership model receives most of the attention because it represents a change to market infrastructure. The trading model is where activity is concentrated.
The unresolved issue is not whether markets can trade 24/7. They can. The harder problem is whether those markets can produce reliable prices when the underlying exchange is closed.
Derivatives can capture early demand
The difference comes down to how each product is built.
A token representing ownership needs a real share behind it. Someone must source the security, hold it in custody, manage issuance and redemption, and maintain the link between the token and the underlying asset.
A derivative requires something simpler: a price reference and a market willing to trade it.
That difference determines which model can scale faster.
The gap is visible in current market activity. Real-world asset perpetual volume on Hyperliquid has grown rapidly, rising from roughly $85 billion in January to above $470 billion by June. Single stocks and pre-IPO names have been among the strongest contributors.
But volume alone does not show ownership demand.
Derivatives naturally generate more turnover because the same capital can be traded repeatedly. Oil futures volume exceeds physical oil purchases. FX derivatives exceed actual currency exchange. Crypto perpetuals have long outpaced spot trading.
The volume shows demand for trading exposure. It does not necessarily show demand to hold the underlying asset.
The difference is also visible in market size. Tokenised equities outstanding are worth around $900 million against trillions in listed equity. Venues have multiplied, but the amount of stock actually represented on-chain remains small.
The gap exists for structural reasons:
- Direct ownership requires infrastructure: Shares need custody, settlement and redemption mechanisms.
- Derivatives require pricing infrastructure: A reliable reference price can support trading without every position being backed by a separately held share.
- Institutions face higher hurdles: Real-time settlement can require fully funded trades, increasing financing costs and creating liquidity challenges.
For a market built around constant access, those differences matter.
A rediscovery, not an invention
The shift towards synthetic exposure is not new.
Commodities, indices and foreign exchange markets have traded across time zones for decades without requiring ownership of the underlying asset. Contracts for difference on US shares also extend access beyond standard exchange hours using aggregated pricing from liquidity providers.
Tokenised markets have reached a similar conclusion from a different starting point.
The original goal was to rebuild ownership on blockchain rails. The strongest demand has been for continuous access to price movements.
One detail highlights the shift. Tokenised equities are now being accepted as margin collateral for perpetual futures. The shares have become the funding layer for the contracts built around them.
The Price discovery problem
Every format offering off-hours equity exposure faces the same challenge: where does the price come from when the primary exchange is closed?
| Format | Off-hours price source | Structural weakness |
| Ownership token | Venue order book | Thin liquidity and venue-specific drift |
| Derivative token | Issuer mark against custodied shares | Issuer and custody dependency |
| Equity perpetual | Oracle feed | Feed quality and leverage cascades |
| Share CFD | Aggregated liquidity providers | No ownership of the underlying |
None of these is the primary exchange tape, because the tape has stopped.
The risks become clearer during overnight and weekend sessions:
- Liquidity becomes fragmented: Each venue relies on its own pricing mechanism once the main exchange closes.
- Price differences widen: The same asset can trade at different prices across platforms.
- Leverage magnifies mistakes: Small pricing gaps can trigger liquidations when positions are highly leveraged.
The effects are measurable. Similar assets have traded at noticeable differences across venues, with spreads widening when liquidity falls. Thin order books also increase the risk of sharp moves caused by relatively small trades.
Earlier this month, a perpetual contract referencing SK Hynix fell 19% after a single trade on a thin Korean pre-market venue, triggering liquidations that the operator later agreed to reimburse.
The incident captures the broader risk: thin reference prices, leveraged positions and forced liquidations can reinforce each other.
Access is solved. Pricing is not.
The demand for 24/7 equity exposure is real.
Traders want access when traditional exchanges are closed. Derivative products have captured that demand faster than ownership-based tokenisation. Institutional infrastructure is also developing, with traditional market providers exploring tokenised settlement.
The next challenge is making those markets reliable.
Fragmentation is widening spreads rather than narrowing them. Leverage is being applied to reference prices built from secondary sources. Regulatory uncertainty also remains, with the SEC’s tokenisation framework reportedly delayed as discussions continue around the tokenisation provisions of the CLARITY Act.
For tokenised ownership, adoption depends on deeper liquidity, clearer regulation and stronger links to underlying securities.
For derivatives, growth depends on better price discovery and stronger risk controls around leverage.
The future of tokenised equities may depend less on whether shares move on-chain and more on whether markets can build a trustworthy way to trade them outside traditional hours.
Trading above Market Noise at VT Markets
- US share CFDs, including selected markets available outside standard exchange hours
- XAUUSD247. Gold, the older example of extended market access on a traditional asset.
- Synthetic indices, continuous by design because they are algorithmically priced and have no underlying market to close
All of these are derivative products. They track price and confer no ownership of the underlying asset or company. Synthetic indices are not equity exposure and carry a different risk profile from the other two.
Tap for Trader’s Takeaway
Frequently Asked Questions
What are tokenised equities and how do they work?
Tokenised equities use blockchain technology to represent exposure to stocks, but not all products provide actual ownership. Some are designed mainly for price tracking or trading exposure.
Why are derivatives gaining traction in 24/7 equity markets?
Derivatives can provide continuous access to price movements without requiring every position to be backed by a separately held share, making them easier to scale.
Are tokenised stocks the same as owning shares?
Not always. Some tokenised products are derivatives that track stock prices without providing voting rights, dividends or direct ownership of the underlying shares.
What is the biggest challenge for 24/7 stock markets?
Reliable price discovery remains the main challenge. When traditional exchanges are closed, markets need accurate reference prices to manage liquidity and leverage risks.
Will tokenised equity markets replace traditional stock markets?
The market is still developing. The next phase depends on whether platforms can improve pricing reliability, liquidity and regulatory clarity.
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